Each American worker has a story of his or her own to tell.  Here are a few of the ones we've collected.

• Sandro Lerro of Miami tells of the challenges facing port workers.
• Melanie Willner of Baltimore explains why school bus drivers deserve better treatment.
  
• Edward Morrison of Tar Heel, North Carolina is fighting to get better treatment for workers at Smithfield Foods.
• Rosetta Brown speaks out about mistreatment of workers at Wal-Mart.

Workers across America are standing up to support the bill that would make it easier for millions of working people to achieve the American Dream. Meet some of them here:

• Michael Kaib and Alicia Melgarejo -- hospitality workers, Los Angeles, California
• Willie Reed -- checker, Atlanta, Georgia
• Rodolfo Chavez -- former truck driver, Miami, Florida
• Cheryl Szydlowski and Anishya Sanders -- traffic flaggers, Las Vegas, Nevada
  
• Kenny Tucker -- driver, Landover, Maryland
• José Guardado -- meatpacker, Omaha, Nebraska
• Dave Thomas -- driver, Lawrenceville, Georgia
  
• Tyra Johnson -- driver, Lawrenceville, Georgia
• Linda Merfeld -- nurse, Dubuque, Iowa
• Darryl Smitherman -- driver, Lawrenceville, Georgia
• Ana Calles -- uniform worker, Charlotte, North Carolina
  
• Bruce Raynor -- General President, UNITE HERE

Some companies deliberately misidentify their employees as "independent contractors" rather than employees -- a tactic that lets them skip out on providing benefits and paying taxes, and which pushes heavy burdens onto the shoulders of the employee. Here are some examples of how this strain of corporate greed has impacted real people's lives:

• Gonzalo Valencia -- carpenter, Covington, Washington State

Worked Up is our series of dialogues with unionized and non-unionized American workers. 

• Gerry Stack, UPS driver; member, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• Joe Nuño, non-union driver for FedEx

Change to Win Chair Anna Burger spoke with workers across America as she worked to get out the vote in the 2006 midterm elections. She shared her stories from the road in her campaign notebook:

• Read Anna Burger's Campaign Notebook